ICICIPRULI

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Updates to add graphic.

By Katrina Hamlin

HONG KONG, May 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Prudential PRU.L, 2378.HK has a punchy plan to shake up its life insurance business in India: it's buying a controlling stake in Bharti Life Insurance. Tapping its new partner's telco and asset management customers is a risky alternative to the tried-and-tested model of distributing products via a bank but could be an ingenious way to kickstart growth.

The $38 billion group agreed to acquire 75% of Bharti Life from ​Bharti Life Ventures and 360 ONE Asset Management ONEW.NS for $389 million, it said on Sunday.

That means Prudential CEO Anil Wadhwani is doing a switcheroo: the transaction requires Pru to reduce its stake in an existing venture with ICICI Bank ICBK.NS to under 10%, from 22%, per the company. It could well go on to divest what remains, leaving Bharti as its key partner.

The Indian business is in need of a reboot. New business sales there fell 2% last year, and its ranking among private life insurers fell to fifth from third a year earlier. That was a disappointing result for what ought to be a high-growth market. The world’s most populous country has only 3% penetration in the life insurance space, Prudential reckons.

Wadhwani’s solution is a creative one. Insurers often lean on large banks like ICICI to reach potential policy buyers. But the target’s main attraction is Bharti Airtel’s BRTI.NS nearly 300 million smartphone customers in India, compared with ICICI’s roughly 80 million retail banking clients, per data from Bharti and BCG Matrix. Overlapping markets in Africa could also open up other emerging markets, while the telecom company's asset management arm could help Pru reach India’s high net worth individuals.

But making it work could be tough. JioBlackRock, a joint venture between BlackRock BLK.N and Jio Financial Services JIOF.NS, is tapping additional distributors to sell its products after trying a digital direct model that leaned on its connections to Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecoms group.

And while the deal price seems fair, it’s not a bargain, valuing the company at just over $500 million, or around 1.5 times its embedded value as of September. That’s in line with the average for rivals SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS, HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS and the Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS, per Visible Alpha, and just below 1.6 times for ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS. Shareholders sent Pru’s stock down 2% in morning trade in Hong Kong. That's probably because Wadhwani's punt for better rewards in India comes with higher risks.

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CONTEXT NEWS

Insurer Prudential said on May 17 that it has agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance from ​Bharti Life Ventures and 360 ONE Asset Management for an initial cash consideration of $389 million, with a potential additional consideration of up to $78 million, subject to certain conditions.

Prudential’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 2.26% to HK$116.8 in morning trade on May 18.

(Editing by Antony Currie; Production by Ujjaini Dutta)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on HAMLIN/katrina.hamlin@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: katrina.hamlin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

May 17 (Reuters) - Prudential PRU.L on Sunday said it has agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance Company, from Bharti Life Ventures and 360 ONE Asset Management ONEW.NS, as part of a strategic repositioning of its India operations.

• Prudential said it will acquire a controlling stake in Bharti Life Insurance for initial cash consideration of 35 billion rupees ($364.74 million), payable on completion. An additional 7 billion rupees is potentially payable on the fulfillment of certain conditions that the Hong Kong and London-listed insurer did not specify.

• Upon completion of the deal, Prudential said its Indian operations will consist of majority-owned Bharti Life Insurance and Prudential HCL Health Insurance, and minority shareholdings in two listed entities, namely 35% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company IICL.NS and 22% in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company ICIR.NS.

• Prudential is required to reduce its shareholding in ICICIPru Life to under 10% to secure regulatory approval for the deal, the company said, adding that it is engaging with regulatory authorities on this process.

• The deal is a strategic move to secure majority ownership of a life insurance business in India, a highly attractive market for Prudential, and enables the insurer to work closely with Bharti Enterprises' other businesses and related entities, the statement added.

• Bharti Life will also look into securing strategic distribution agreements with Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS and 360 ONE as part of the deal, the statement said.

($1 = 95.9600 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )

((rhearose.abraham@thomsonreuters.com))

By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, May 14 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (ICIR.NS), one of India’s largest insurers, is tactically increasing its investments in longer maturity government bonds, a position it aims to dial back by September in anticipation of rate hikes, a senior executive said.

The strategy reflects expectations that relatively lower supply of longer tenor debt will briefly push yields on long bonds lower, before two rate hikes of 25 basis points each by India's central bank kick in between October and March, Arun Srinivasan, chief of fixed income at ICICI Prudential Life said in an interview on Wednesday.

The insurer has increased its debt portfolio's modified duration to roughly six years, making it more sensitive to interest rate changes, in a purely tactical near-term move.

"We maintain a strict mandate to unwind these positions and reduce modified duration below five years by September as concerns on fiscal and inflation start to mount," said Srinivasan, citing structural constraints in global oil refining that have likely established a floor under oil prices, reinforcing inflation risks.

India's retail inflation rose by 3.48% in April. The central bank ​targets retail inflation at 4%, within a tolerance band of 2% ​to 6%.

"The impact of high global oil prices have not yet fully impacted Indian retail inflation," analysts at SBI Research said in a Monday note.

Wholesale prices on the other hand, have spiked on higher energy costs, and economists say the increase is likely to pass through to retail inflation with a lag.

"If inflationary pressures remain stubborn, the RBI will be forced to act in the latter part of the year," said Srinivasan.

India's monetary policy can look through temporary supply shocks but ​may intervene if inflation pressures ‌become entrenched, central bank Governor Sanjay ​Malhotra said on Tuesday.

For now, the insurance firm prefers investing in liquid papers, especially the benchmark 10-year bond, to navigate volatility, while allocating to 15-year and 40-year segments for long-term investments.

India's 10-year benchmark bond yield IN064835G=CC traded around 7.03%, while the 15-year and 40-year bond yields were near 7.33% and 7.68% respectively on Thursday.

Srinivasan expects spreads between the 10-year and 40-year bonds to compress in the first half of the financial year before widening again in the second.

Within corporate debt, the insurer is focused on high-quality five-year papers, alongside exposure to acquisition financing trades and similar higher-yield credit opportunities.

($1 = 95.8163 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Gopika Gopakumar; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)

((Dharamraj.Dhutia@thomsonreuters.com;))

April 15 (Reuters) - Shares of India's ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS rose 5.67% on Wednesday after a near 58% jump in fourth-quarter profit.

The insurer reported a profit of 6.09 billion rupees ($65.34 million), aided by a pickup in new business growth and steady income from policies that were renewed.

(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

((Devika.MadhusudhananNair@thomsonreuters.com;))

April 14 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd ICIR.NS:

• ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE Q4 PAT 6.09 BILLION RUPEES

• ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE Q4 NET PREMIUM INCOME 191.8 BILLION RUPEES

• ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD - DECLARES DIVIDEND OF 1.65 RUPEES PER SHARE

• ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE FY26 VNB MARGIN AT 24.7%

Source text: ID:nBSEn0kNd

Further company coverage: ICIR.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

April 13 (Reuters) - India's ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company IICL.NS reported a 10.4% rise in fourth-quarter profit on Monday, helped by robust domestic inflows as investors used the market correction as an opportunity to increase investments.

• The country's most valuable asset manager by market capitalisation posted a profit of 7.63 billion rupees ($81.76 million) for the quarter ended March 31, up from 6.92 billion rupees a year earlier.

• Revenue from operations grew 19.5% to 15.17 billion rupees.

• Strong inflows into equity mutual funds during the quarter, driven largely by retail investors, helped cushion the market from persistent foreign outflows and supported the asset management industry.

• Inflows into Indian equity mutual funds rose 56% to an eight-month high in March, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India showed, even as foreign portfolio investors sold record amounts of Indian shares driven by elevated crude prices and Iran war concerns.

• ICICI Prudential AMC's quarterly average assets under management for mutual funds grew 24.9%, led by contributions from equity funds.

• The firm, a joint venture between India's second-largest private lender ICICI Bank ICBK.NS and British insurer Prudential PRU.L, is up about 30% since its trading debut on December 19.

• The AMC also declared a dividend of 12.4 rupees per share.

• Indian equities fell sharply during the quarter, with the benchmark Nifty 50 declining about 14.5%, weighed down by rising oil prices and concerns over inflation and economic growth as geopolitical tensions intensified.

($1 = 93.3270 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin and Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Harikrishnan Nair)

((Bipasha.Dey@thomsonreuters.com;))

By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, March 27 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS has been trimming exposure to ultra-long government bonds in favour of the medium duration 10–15-year segment and will continue this shift in the near term, a fixed income executive said.

The insurer sees this segment offering a better balance of returns and liquidity than ultra-long bonds.

"Our primary preference remains with government bonds in the 10-year to 15-year segment, as we maintain a cautious stance toward the long end of the curve," said Vidya Iyer, head fixed income at the life insurance company that manages debt worth 1.84 trillion rupees ($19.52 billion).

The segment "offers superior liquidity and aligns strategically with potential open market operations from the Reserve Bank of India," Iyer said.

Iyer's comments come amid a selloff in Indian government bonds, driven by concerns that higher oil prices impacted by the Iran conflict could stoke inflation and strain the fiscal outlook.

A 10-rupee per litre cut in fuel excise duties on Friday could cost about 1.55 trillion rupees annually, according to Emkay Global.

India's 10-year benchmark bond yield climbed to 6.95% on Friday, the highest in 20 months.

Iyer said the exposure to 30–40-year bonds was reduced in late 2025 as market technicals weakened and regulatory changes curbed demand from long-term investors.

After exiting long-duration positions six months ago, there is no immediate case to re-enter the ultra-long 30–40 year segment, she added.

Yields on 30-year and 40-year bonds have risen about 50 basis points since early October, while the 10-year is up about 35 basis points.

That shift helped shield the portfolio from widening spreads between the 10-year and ultra-long bonds.

The insurer is also moving down the duration curve in corporate bonds, favouring the five-year tenor over the 10-year, where limited supply and shallow market depth constrain execution, she added.

"Recent high-quality acquisitions have allowed us to build a good position for our carry portfolio. Under our base-case scenario of a prolonged RBI pause, five-year corporate bonds offer attractive yields and are particularly well-suited for a one-to-two-year roll down strategy."

($1 = 94.2400 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

((Dharamraj.Dhutia@thomsonreuters.com;))

March 24 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd ICIR.NS:

• ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD - GETS TAX ORDER INCLUDING INTEREST TOTALING 3.91 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nNSE9CGkJt

Further company coverage: ICIR.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

March 19 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd ICIR.NS:

• ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE CO - CLARIFICATION ON REPORT CO MAY EXIT LIFE INSURANCE JOINT VENTURE WITH ICICI BANK

• ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE CO - COMPANY IS UNAWARE OF ANY SUCH DEVELOPMENTS

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: ICIR.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;;))

Adds details on structure, background in paragraphs 6-7, 13-16

By Vibhuti Sharma, Jayshree P Upadhyay and Aditya Kalra

MUMBAI, March 18 (Reuters) - Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Platforms has hired 17 banks to manage its Mumbai stock listing, which will see the company raise no new funds and allow exits for some shareholders, four sources familiar with the matter said.

The IPO will be executed as a so-called "offer for sale" in India, three of the sources said, where only existing shareholders sell their shares to the public.

Reliance did not respond to Reuters queries.

"We don't need new money," said one of the sources, explaining the decision not to raise funds from the IPO.

Over the past six years, Jio has diversified into AI and raised funds from investors including KKR KKR.N, General Atlantic, Silver Lake and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

The offer-for-sale route is increasingly becoming a lucrative exit route for global investors and how large IPOs are executed in India. Other recent IPOs via this route included the 2024 listing of Hyundai Motor HYUN.NS and LG Electronics India LGEL.NS in 2025.

In November, investment bank Jefferies estimated that Reliance Jio's valuation stood at $180 billion.

LONG LIST OF INVESTMENT BANKS

The hiring of banks brings the parent of India's largest telecom operator Reliance Jio, with over 500 million users, closer to being possibly the country's largest IPO worth more than $4 billion.

Jio's roster of 17 advisors includes Wall Street giants Citigroup C.N and JPMorgan JPM.N, and Indian investment banks Axis Capital, ICICI Securities, IIFL IIFL.NS, and Kotak Mahindra Capital, said two of the sources, who added that the plan is to file for regulatory approval this month.

Other banks on the list include the securities arms of Goldman Sachs GS.N, Morgan Stanley MS.N and Bank of America BAC.N, they added.

Goldman Sachs and Bank of America declined to comment. The other investment banks did not respond to requests for comment.

The news on hiring of banks and prospectus filing timeline for Jio's listing come as the Mideast conflict has cast a cloud over global capital market deals, with a handful getting pulled.

Strong IPO momentum in India, however, seems intact with the largest exchange operator, the National Stock Exchange of India, saying last week it had hired 20 banks to manage its IPO.

It's not unusual for a large number of banks to vie for a mandate and get hired for large equity public offerings of private enterprises, as they compete for league table credit in a market where deals exceeding a billion dollars are rare.

In the country's largest-ever IPO mandate, 18 investment banks were involved in the public offering of shares by asset manager ICICI Prudential AMC in 2025, which saw a share sale of $1.2 billion.

(Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma and Jayshree P Upadhyay in Mumbai and Aditya Kalra in Delhi; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Joe Bavier and Bernadette Baum)

((Vibhuti.Sharma@thomsonreuters.com;))

Feb 19 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd ICIR.NS:

• GETS TAX DEMAND FOR 2.16 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nNSE1c66T5

Further company coverage: ICIR.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

** Shares of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS extend gains 2% to 695 rupees

** Insurer reports 20% rise in Q3 profit to 3.9 billion rupees ($43.23 million), helped by higher investment income

** Jefferies raises VNB estimates by 3-4% over FY26-28 and hikes PT to 820 rupees, implying 20% upside; keeps "buy" rating

** Says while GST was a drag, ICIR could offset it with better product mix, positive yield curve and cost controls

** Ambit says 15% y/y growth in non-linked vs 8% in linked contributed towards product mix improvement and stable VNB margins q/q

** Nomura says margin outlook for Q4 remains favorable as distributor negotiations are expected to close in coming months, helping faster APE growth and translating into even higher VNB growth

** On avg 33 analysts have "buy" rating on stock, median PT is 737.50 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, ICIR up 4% vs 2025's 2% rise

($1 = 90.2160 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru)

((UrviManoj.Dugar@thomsonreuters.com;))

** ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company ICIR.NS rises 2.3% to 696.6 rupees after Q3 results

** The insurer's Q3 PAT rose 19.8% on higher investment income

** Value of new business margin for nine-month ended Dec also improved to 24.4% from 22.8%

** Stock set to rise most in a session in more than a month

** ICIR has been above its 50-day, 100-day, 200-day simple moving avgs since early Dec, indicating bullish sentiment

** More than 2.7 mln shares traded, 2.4x their 30-day moving avg, most traded since Oct 29, 2025

** Avg rating is "buy" and median PT is 714.5 rupees, ~2.4% higher than current price - data compiled by LSEG

** ICIR rose ~2% in 2025

($1 = 90.2775 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru)

((Anuran.Sadhu@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8697274436;))

Dec 26 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd ICIR.NS:

• RECEIVES TAX DEMAND ORDER WORTH 13.5 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE3sKVPR

Further company coverage: ICIR.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

Dec 8 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential AMC IICL.NS, India's second-largest asset management company, plans to make an acquisition in the private equity space, its CEO said on Monday, a move that would strengthen its position beyond traditional investment products.

The acquisition would help the firm deepen its ability to analyse new age businesses, Nimesh Shah said at the company's initial public offering press conference in Mumbai, but did not elaborate on the timeline or other details.

ICICI Prudential AMC, which manages more than 10 trillion rupees ($110.92 billion) in assets, is also awaiting the markets regulator's approval to acquire group company ICICI Ventures as part of its private equity expansion.

Additionally, it is in talks with regulators for the launch of retirement funds, Shah said.

In September, India's pension regulator permitted fund houses to launch customised schemes and was looking to widen investment options for private pension funds to drive better returns for subscribers.

ICICI Prudential AMC is aiming for a valuation of up to 1.07 trillion rupees ($11.9 billion) in its IPO and has set a price band of 2,061 to 2,165 rupees per share.

A joint venture between ICICI Bank and UK-based Prudential, the company will see Prudential selling around 10% of its stake in the 106.03 billion-rupee IPO, more than initially planned.

The IPO opens for subscription on Friday and closes on December 16.

($1 = 90.1550 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jayshree P Upadhyay and Nishit Navin; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

((Nishit.Navin@thomsonreuters.com;))

Updates stock price in paragraph 2, adds details throughout

By Vivek Kumar M

Oct 17 (Reuters) - India's Canara HSBC Life Insurance CANR.NS made a muted debut on the bourses on Friday, as unappealing pricing and a crowded IPO market clouded the insurer's prospects.

Its stock was trading at 108.9 rupees, as of 10:50 a.m. IST, up 2.7% from its issue and listing price of 106 rupees, yielding the insurer a valuation of 105.15 billion rupees ($1.20 billion).

Peers SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS and HDFC Life Insurance HDFL.NS are valued around $21 billion and $18 billion, respectively.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance, which is a joint venture between Canara Bank and HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings, struggled to garner bids from retail and non-institutional investors earlier this week.

Retail investors subscribed 42% of their quota, while high-net-worth individuals subscribed a third of their shares in the $283 million IPO.

Thanks to qualified institutional buyers, the issue was subscribed 2.29 times, which was still lower than most other IPOs that opened in the last couple of weeks.

For instance, another Canara Bank-promoted entity, Canara Robeco Asset Management CANE.NS, received bids worth nearly 10-fold and closed 13% higher in its debut on Thursday.

Choice Broking said the insurer's valuation appeared to be fully priced, with price-to-enterprise value multiple, a stock valuation metric, of 1.6x, while industry averaged 2.4x.

"High dependence on bancassurance (where banks sell insurance) and relatively lower VNB (value of new business) margins compared to peers is expected to keep valuation multiples at a discount to peers," ICICI Direct said.

The insurer got 87% of its new business premium in fiscal year 2024-25 through bancassurance, with Canara Bank contributing 70.6% of this.

The listing caps a busy week for the Indian IPO market, which saw five stock debuts, including a blockbuster listing from LG Electronics India LGEL.NS and a muted start from the country's largest IPO of the year, Tata Capital TATC.NS. ($1 = 87.8387 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Harikrishnan Nair)

((VivekKumar.M@thomsonreuters.com;))

** ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS set to report quarterly earnings later in the day

** Motilal Oswal sees value of new business, which measures profitability of new policies, and growth declining y/y; expects PAT to rise 19% y/y

** Emkay says life insurers to witness moderated growth trends, impacted by base effect, demand moderation due to deferred sales after GST cuts, festive season

** Sees co's Q2 PAT at 2.93 mln rupees ($33,033.07)

** Stock rated "buy" on avg; median PT is 715 rupees, per data compiled by LSEG

** ICIR falls 9% this year, as of last close

($1 = 88.6990 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Komal Salecha)

((Komal@thomsonreuters.com;))

**Shares of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS rise 1.42% to 601.85 rupees

**Co reported new business premium of 17.61 billion rupees for the month of September, up 6.1% year-on-year

**Jefferies said the retail APE growth for life insurance industry stayed soft in September on expected lines due to postponement of purchases ahead of GST cuts applicable from September 22.

**Stock rated as "Buy"; median PT at 715 rupees as per LSEG data

**YTD, stock down 8.09%

(Reporting by Mridula Kumar)

((Mridula.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))

Sept 9 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd ICIR.NS:

• TO CONSIDER FUND RAISING VIA DEBENTURES

Source text: ID:nBSE8L7hs5

Further company coverage: ICIR.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;))

NEW DELHI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled tax cuts for hundreds of consumer items, from soap to cars, in the biggest overhaul of the goods and services tax (GST), set to take effect from September 22.

Here are key highlights:

MAJOR CHANGES

India will have two key tax rates of 5% and 18% from September 22, versus four now. A new tax slab of 40% will apply to high-end goods, but all additional levies above that are to be abolished, bringing down effective tax rates on mid-size and big cars.

REVENUE LOSS, INFLATION IMPACT

The government estimates the cuts will cause revenue loss of 480 billion rupees ($5.5 billion), far lower than economists' estimate ranging from 1 trillion rupees to 1.8 trillion rupees.

Citi said India's inflation could ease as much as 1.1 percentage points if the cuts are fully passed through to consumers. India's retail inflation rate fell in July to its lowest in eight years.

TAX CUTS ON DAILY ITEMS

A tax panel approved lower GST of 5% on items of everyday use such as packaged food, medicines, toothpaste, fruit, milk products, talcum powder and shampoo, against 12% to 18% now.

The cut is expected to lift the sales of fast-moving consumer goods firms such as Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS, Nestle NEST.NS and Godrej Industries GODI.NS, while lowering costs for farmers.

It will abolish tax on individual life and health insurance products sold by companies such as LIC LIFI.NS, SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS.

HOLIDAY BOOST TO SALES

The government has cut taxes on items such as cars, TVs and even cement, which could boost sales during the festival season that typically runs from the last week of September until November. India's tax panel also cut GST on air conditioners, ambulances, dishwashers, three-wheelers and hybrid vehicles.

Carmakers such as Maruti MRTI.NS and Toyota 7203.T, and manufacturers of consumer applicance such as LG Electronics LGEL.NS and Sony 6758.T are set to benefit immediately when the new rates kick in.

The tax panel also lowered the effective tax for big cars to 40% from the current rate of as much as 50%, making cars from Mercedes-Benz AGMBGn.DE, AUDI Aktiengesellschaft and BMW BMWG.DE attractive. GST on EVs was kept at 5%, giving relief to carmakers such as Tata Motors TAMO.NS and Mahindra & Mahindra MAHM.NS after a panel recommended an increase.

The government lowered taxes on fertiliser and tractors to help lower costs for farmers, recently come in the spotlight as Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to protect them following a breakdown in India-U.S. trade talks.

MAIN LOSERS

GST was raised to 18% from 12% on apparel and clothing accessories that cost more than 2,500 rupees, which could hurt global brands such as Marks and Spencer MKS.L, Levi Strauss LEVI.N, and Zara.

The tax on coal went to 18% from 5%, but the effective tax rate on fizzy drinks make by PepsiCo PEP.O and Coca-Cola KO.N was held at 40%.

($1=87.5060 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aftab Ahmed; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

((Aftab.Ahmed@thomsonreuters.com; +91 99109 33884;))

Adds comments from Maruti Suzuki chairman in paragraphs 7,8,9

By Nikunj Ohri, Aftab Ahmed and Aditi Shah

NEW DELHI, Aug 18 (Reuters) - India aims to slash taxes on small cars and insurance premiums as part of a sweeping reform of its goods and services tax (GST), a government source said on Monday, sparking a rally in Indian stock markets.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration revealed plans over the weekend for the largest tax overhaul since 2017, with consumer, auto and insurance companies likely to emerge as the biggest winners when product prices drop from October, once the reform is approved.

The federal government has suggested lowering GST on small petrol and diesel cars to 18% from the current 28%, said the source who is directly involved in the matter.

The consumption tax on health and life insurance premiums may also be lowered to 5% or even zero from 18% currently, the same source said.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS, the biggest seller of small petrol cars in India, surged nearly 9% on Monday, leading a rally in auto shares that helped push India's benchmark Nifty index 1.3% higher, on course for its best day in three months.

Shares of other carmakers such as Mahindra & Mahindra MAHM.NS, as well as motorbike manufacturers like Hero MotoCorp HROM.NS and Bajaj Auto BAJA.NS, which will also benefit from tax cuts, jumped 2%-4% on Monday.

Stocks of insurance companies such as ICICI Prudential ICIR.NS, SBI Life SBIL.NS, and LIC LIFI.NS rose as much as 2%-5% before pairing some gains.

Modi's deep tax cuts will strain government revenues but have drawn praise from businesses and political pundits who say they will bolster his image in an ongoing trade fight with Washington.

Maruti Chairman R.C. Bhargava said the tax rationalisation is a "huge reform".

"With more affordability, more people will come into the purchasing system," said Bhargava, who declined to comment on proposed tax cuts on small cars until the fine print is out.

"This restructuring of the GST will increase competitiveness of Indian products and the opening of trade borders will bring in the necessary competition. Competition, combined with your ability to produce and sell at lower prices, makes for the best efficiency," he added.

Federal government officials over the weekend said New Delhi has proposed only two rates of taxation -- 5% and 18% -- under the revamped structure. The highest 28% rate will be abolished.

The new proposal, however, will impose a 40% tax on 5-7 "sin-goods" like tobacco products and luxury items.

The announcement will not be effective until the GST Council, which is chaired by the federal finance minister and has representatives from all states, gives a nod. A meeting is expected by October.

India's finance ministry did not reply to an email seeking comment.

PUSH FOR SMALL CARS

Sales of small cars, defined as those having engine capacity below 1200cc for petrol vehicles and 1500cc for diesel and not exceeding 4 metres in length, have slowed over the last few years as buyers switched to bigger, feature-rich SUVs.

Small cars made up a third of the 4.3 million passenger vehicles sold in the world's third-largest automobile market last fiscal year, down from nearly 50% pre-COVID, industry data showed.

The segment makes up half of all cars sold by Maruti, majority-owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor 7269.T, which saw its market share plunge to about 40% from over 50% in the last five years as sales of its Alto, Dzire and Wagon-R models dropped.

Carmakers Hyundai Motor India HYUN.NS and Tata Motors TAMO.NS also stand to gain.

Cars with higher engine capacity that currently attract 28% GST and an additional levy of up to 22% - resulting in total taxes of about 50% - may come under a new special rate of 40%, the source said.

The government source added that details are being firmed up to consider if any extra levies should be imposed over the 40% to keep the overall tax incidence for big cars the same at 43%-50%.

On the other hand insurance penetration in India continues to remain low, at 3.8% of GDP, in 2024, according to research firm Swiss Re Institute. The companies believe lowering of GST will help boost sales of insurance products.

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Aditya Kalra, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Susan Fenton)

((Aftab.Ahmed@thomsonreuters.com; +91 99109 33884;))

** India's ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co ICIR.NS sheds 2% to 655.70 rupees

** Life insurer reported a higher first-quarter profit on Tuesday but analysts flag risks to co's growth prospects

** ICIR's margins were better but growth remains challenged, says Goldman Sachs, citing co's "muted" annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales growth

** Macquarie analysts say ICIR's APE growth "disappointed," adding that Q1 results flagged "growth pangs and persistency issues"

** Session's decline trims nearly all YTD gains for stock

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

((Kashish.tandon@thomsonreuters.com))

** ICICI Prudential Life Insurance ICIR.NS rises 2.4% to 688.8 rupees after Q1 results

** Co posts a 34% rise in Q1 profit, helped by higher premiums from group policies

** Reports total premium growth of 8.1% in Q1 FY2026

** YTD, stock up 1.7%

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru)

((Ananta.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com))

July 10 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd ICIR.NS:

• APE FOR JUNE DOWN 5.2% Y/Y

• NEW BUSINESS PREMIUM FOR JUNE 2025 AT 15.73 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE6dLrbL

Further company coverage: ICIR.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;;))

July 4 (Reuters) - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd ICIR.NS:

• ICICI PRUDENTIAL - DENIES REPORT STATING CO'S MD, CEO SHORTLISTED FOR INDUSIND BANK CEO POSITION

Source text: ID:nNSE4mv59n

Further company coverage: ICIR.NS

((Reuters.Briefs@thomsonreuters.com;;))